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Monday, February 28, 2011

Bill Bolling on the passage of the Planned Parenthood regulation bill

...that Edd Houck voted against, one day after quoting scripture against the House GOP's budget.

Earlier this week I cast the tie-breaking vote in support of SB924, which requires the Board of Health to develop regulations to enhance patient safety at abortion clinics in Virginia. This legislation will now be forwarded to Governor McDonnell for his review and signature.

I have long supported enhanced patient safety standards for abortion clinics. In my view, this is not a debate about abortion, it is a question of patient safety. Today, there are no specific regulations governing the operation of abortion clinics and no state agency routinely inspects abortion clinics to make certain they protecting patient safety. This needs to change.

Whether you are pro-life or pro-choice, we should all be able to agree that there need to be specific patient safety standards for abortion clinics and we need to regularly inspect these facilities to make certain they are complying with these standards. Any woman undergoing an abortion deserves such protections and should expect the Commonwealth to make certain that they are in place.

Unfortunately, media accounts of SB924 have been grossly misleading. Media accounts have suggested that abortion clinics will now be regulated in the same way as acute care hospitals. That is absolutely untrue. In fact, we don't even know what specific regulations will be adopted for abortion clinics. These regulations will be developed by the Board of Health over the next 280 days. I have confidence that the Board will develop regulations that are fair and balanced.

I was pleased to cast the deciding vote in favor of SB924. I have always supported this legislation and it is consistent with my pro-life voting record. However, this issue, more than any other issue I have been involved with during my 20 years of public service, shows that you can't believe everything you read or hear. Sometimes you have to dig a little deeper to find out what an issue is really all about.

If you would like to learn more about the General Assembly's actions on SB924 you might want read some of the following media accounts:Washington PostRichmond Times DispatchAP/Fox NewsVirginia Statehouse News